Experiment Summary

We are planning to cook 126* unique combinations of raw protein formats and cook methods to identify the top combinations to be used in future Cook From Raw tests. For each protein we will come up with a top 3 ranking of the highest visual quality combinations, and a top 3 ranking of the highest yield (least shrink) combinations.

Visual Quality - Participants will rank combinations on a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best). Highest quality is defined as having a resemblance to current IQF proteins, good particulation, and good color etc. 

Yield - The yield of each combination will be determined by dividing the cooked net weight by the raw net weight.

This experiment is part of the larger goal of saving the company money by cooking raw proteins instead of buying already cooked proteins.  Additionally, cooking from raw could potentially replace our HPP lethality CCP, which would also save the company a lot of money.

*126 unique combinations =

3 proteins (beef, chicken, and pork)

x 2 fat options (lean and fatty)

x 3 prep styles (ground, diced, and whole muscle)

x 7 cook methods (steam, heat, steam/heat, sous vide, boil, pan fry, and pressure cook)

Goals

Per protein, rank the top 3 combinations of cooking method and protein format that have the highest visual quality e.g. Beef Visual Quality

1. Steam/Heat Lean Whole Muscle Beef
2. Steam Fatty Whole Muscle Beef
3. Pan Fry Lean Whole Muscle Beef

Per protein, rank the top 3 combinations of cooking method and protein format that have the highest yield e.g. Beef Yield

1. Sous Vide Lean Whole Muscle Beef
2. Sous Vide Fatty Whole Muscle Beef
3. Boiled Lean Whole Muscle Beef

Requirements

All necessary measuring, cooking (including utensils), cooling, vacuum sealing, and photography equipment including:

• Measuring Equipment
• Table Scales
• Thermometers
• Cooking Equipment
• Sous Vide Cooker
• Pressure Cooker
• Boiling Pot
• Frying Pan
• Electric Stove
• Rational Ovens
• Speed Racks
• Perf Pans
• Hotel Pans
• Large Mixing Spoons
• Knives
• Cutting Board
• Cooling Equipment
• Speed Racks
• Refrigerator
• Vacuum Sealing Equipment
• VC999
• Film
• Photography Equipment
• Camera
• External Lighting Source(s)
• White Backdrop
• 126 lbs of raw protein

Setup

1. Set up cooking method equipment
2. All proteins split into 1lb portions

Outline

This larger experiment will be broken down into smaller experiments, organized by cooking method. All protein formats will be cooked in the  following order: steam, heat, steam/heat, sous vide, boil, pan fry, and finally pressure cook

For each protein format...

1. Portion out the raw protein into a 1 lb portion
   1. Record the raw protein net weight [(exact) e.g. 0.98 lbs]
   2. Photograph the raw protein
2. Cook the raw protein according to SOPs/agreed upon guidelines
   1. Record the cook duration
   2. Record the protein temperature post cook
   3. Record the protein net weight (yield will automatically be calculated)
   4. Photograph the cooked protein
3. Record visual quality observations and other relevant notes
4. Vacuum seal the cooked protein using VC999
   1. Photograph the cooked protein in the vacuum sealed bag
   2. Label the vacuum sealed bag and store it in the freezer

Possible Experiment Reduction

At key points during the experiment, we'll have an "off-ramp" discussions to decide if we can and should eliminate some future tests. The two  "buckets" to be discussed are...

1. Ground vs Whole Muscle
2. Diced vs Whole Muscle (protein diced before cooking vs post cooking)

If there is a overwhelming consensus that e.g. Whole Muscle combinations are producing better visual quality and yield results than all the Ground combinations, then we will consider eliminating all Ground combinations moving forward.

Schedule

Analysis

Review experiment photographs and frozen samples, one protein at a time. Assign a visual quality score (1 = worst, 10 = best) for each protein  format and cook method combination.

• Ties (if in the top 3) should be broken by additional review of the photographs and samples and then coming up with a new score to  the tenths place (e.g. 8 > 8.2)
• For each protein, determine the top 3 combinations of cooking method and protein format

Sort the entire data table by protein, then by yield

• For each protein, determine the top 3 combinations of yield